Tag Archives: WNY

Well it’s been over a month since my CD Release party and my heart and mind are still buzzing with excitement, energy, and possibilities from this magical event!!

This was one of the most amazing highly blessed nights of my LIFE!! GIVE THANKS to my Buffalo community for bringin’ it and showing up for the celebration. It was frickin’ amazing to say the least!!! Wow!!!!!!

I’m so honored and humbled to have co-created and shared this night with some of the most incredibly talented people I know in Western New York.

Some of my supporters have provided their reflections on this event, and I’m thrilled to share these perspectives with you. Even if you weren’t there, you can get a glimpse of the energy and all the possibilities yet to come in my flourishing creative journey!!

Read on…

‘Buffalo native, world traveler, twin and skyrocket Laura Haykel blasted off with her debut ‘I Am’ at her recent CD Release Party! Laura’s spiritually-minded music bears witness to her personal growth and invites fellow travelers to tread along on the path of self-evocation, exploration, and expression.

Before my performance at Ani DiFranco’s Babeville!

The songs performed from the stage matched the songs on her debut CD. Both start with the evocation ‘Get Up’, a song of summoning that implicitly recognizes the internal diversity and complexity of the person. The internal diversity and complexity are not evils to be banished but potencies to be harmonized and released. Don’t deny, repress, and doubt yourself. Rather than fall into patterns where you get in your own way, interrupt sadness, anxiety, guilt, and shame with empathy, affection, exploration, and action. All these complicated emotions rest in us. The negative emotions tend to be strongest when we nurture a voice that speaks them in our own ears. The strongest response is to get out of our own way and engage community. The positive emotions tend to pull us out of our individual shells into the sunlight of supportive community.

‘I Feel Like Singin’ testifies to internal joy and models release.

‘Complete Me’ fits into this philosophy of self-realization through engagement and it also functions as an homage to Motown. It makes me think of how consciously Laura engages our rich American heritage of African musics, especially if one includes Central and South America in one’s conception of American. The love of roots reggae is evident in most of Laura’s music, but we should not forget that reggae developed from Jamaican musicians who loved African American Rhythm n Blues and Soul music.

We Stand Strong frames a pressing question about the situation of the descendants of oppressed people and brings forth a solution consistent with the overall spirituality of ‘I Am’. Laura calls for solidarity and movement, standing tall and marching forward. The resources for our solution are in our healthy socialization and acculturation–in a pragmatic spirituality.

The song ‘I Am’ has an East Indian tonality and lyrics that envision the self as the macrocosm. All of the universe can be found within. Self-affirmation need not alienate us from the world as we are world and the world is in us.

Some high points for me were when Laura sang to her daughter Kaya and when Baba Ramone danced with grandmama Haykel. Laura’s debut was a wonderful affirmation of individuality, family, community, progressive politics, but above all progressive spirituality.

Laura has been rising steadily for years now. Time will tell if this moment will be a plateau or part of an even steeper assent. What music will follow this promising debut?’

With Mike Corey, the extraordinary guitarist and composer who offered his creative genius & some songwriting support for ‘I AM’

‘I found Laura Aiisha’s voice to be like pure, rich and golden liquid honey and her spirit to be sheer sunshine, exuding amazing rays of healing energy and light to all who participated in the CD release party… LAH exuded exceptional life-changing, transformative power and with laser-sharp focus, She and the band created the type of synergy and tightness of the highest caliber that I’ve heard in WNY. I’m an avid performer and musician and have heard tons of bands locally and nationally, and I must say that Laura Aiisha’s release party and band killed it…redefined and adjusted the bar way up!

Although I do attend many local concerts, I must say that I do NOT typically enjoy listening to original artists/compositions that much…HOWEVER, I find myself listening to Laura Aiisha’s debut CD ‘I Am’ every time I get into the car… LAH’s voice is rich, warm and earthy with hints of almost Middle Eastern inflections, as is her music.

“Get Up” is highly catchy and I find myself singing it each time I wake up and throughout the day for inspiration and to cut through obstacles…the only other song that can come close to such inspiration but isn’t nearly as melodious and soulful is “Whip It” by Devo!

It’s totally over-the-top exciting to be connecting with my community through my music!!! Putting ‘I AM’ out there is showing people dimensions of my being they might not have been aware of and giving me momentum to share even more of myself with the world in a truly empowered and expansive way. My CD release party last week was an absolute success and has performers and audience alike just buzzing with good vibes and inspiring energy. How does it get any better?! Oh, it does…. !!! It’s been SUCH an honor to be featured in two local newspapers and have ‘I AM’ praised by highly respected music critics. I invite you to check out the reviews! Jeff Miers of The Buffalo News writes, ‘Laura Aiisha’s EP ‘I Am’ is packed with messages of positivity and empowerment, its combination of reggae, world-beat, R&B, soul and dance music offering the properly ebullient accompaniment to Haykel’s sensuous, soulful singing. Coupled with Haykel’s assertively optimistic lyrics, a viscerally uplifting atmosphere ensues.’ Read the rest of his review HERE. Frank de Blase, the ahhmazing music critic at the Rochester City Newspaper writes, ‘With her exquisitely smooth alto, Laura Aiisha balances secular accessibility with an irresistible … Continue reading →

My evolution into becoming an embodied and empowered singer has been exciting, scary at times, thrilling, and enlightening. I trust my story will inspire you to take those steps to make your dreams a full-blown reality. My journey just keeps going, and just keeps getting better. and better!! When I was 30, I began working with my first life coach and regularly sang as I walked into her office for a session. She used to tell me, ‘Laura, I could listen to you sing alllllll day long! Your voice is like buttah!’ Hearing her words and feeling the love that she shared them with gave me courage to begin opening up. Eventually I chose to listen to the small voice within which kept telling me to go to Karaoke to get over my fear of singing in front of others. Within 1 month I was bored with Karaoke and decided that I wanted to start a reggae band. I found two young guys on craigslist with a similar vision and together, over the next 6 months, we built a 10 piece band called Mosaic Foundation! I was the lead singer, co~wrote our songs, managed and booked the band all while … Continue reading →

For any of you who have siblings, you might know the challenges that can come up about any number of different things, even for siblings who get along most of the time! There’s a long history, ups and downs, things that you may have thought don’t bother you anymore, but then your sibling does or says something and you get majorly triggered! I’m sooo excited and proud to say that my sis and I are navigating on big levels to heal the past so that we can do our greatest work together in the here and now! It’s not always blue skies.. sometimes the skies look quite dark, however we have both been building our self responsibility, compassion and forgiveness muscles as well as filling our tool kits and I’ve got to say.. issues that used to put us at odds for days or more we’re able to flip in a matter of hours, minutes or even seconds! Ohhhh… what a feelin’!! Over the last year my twin sistar Sarah and I have been diving into co~creative collaborations more and more. This has been a wild, wonderful, challenging, exciting, expansive, soul/heart/mind stretching experience for both of us! Check out this … Continue reading →